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THURSDAY,
March, 27th, 2008, AT 8:50 PM,
PT
The Calm Before The Storm...
Jeff Stark, Special To The IBL: Things
may look calm and quiet on the IBL News
page but we have been assured that there is plenty going on at IBL Central before the Thunder and Lightning
of Season 1 begins! The IBL had hoped for
6-10 Teams for the
opening season but to their surprise, the League now has 10 Teams with a minimum
of 2 more to soon be added to the Central 1 and yet another to the East 2 giving
the League 13 Teams. However, the League still hopes to fill the remaining 3
Western Division Team slots before the June start date of Season 1.
We caught up with IBL
President and founder Steve Fossum (Below Right) today in San
Jose, CA while attending a California State Athletic Commission (CSAC)
meeting and except for California, things look promising for the young IBL's future. Delays with the CSAC in
approving Amateur MMA have all but halted any hopes for the IBL to field any California
Teams
for the Leagues Western Division. Today's Rules Meeting with other California
promoters and officials exposed that the best case scenario for Amateur MMA to
be approved in California would not be until at least December of this year. "It
was disappointing to hear that it will take this long for Amateur MMA to be
approved." said Fossum. "This just means another year
of opportunity missed for amateur MMA fighters unless they throw the towel in
and turn pro, which in itself is not the best choice for any beginning fighter."
The IBL has had some
interest for Teams in Idaho, Wyoming and New Mexico, but all have been skeptical
to commit to the League for the first season. The reluctance for these
interested and potential IBL Teams to
start the first IBL
season with the others will end up
costing them more in Season 2 and beyond if they want to enter the League. All
first season IBL Teams for 2008 received a
$1,000 discount because the IBL found a
sponsor willing to pay the first $1,000 for each first year Team. So, instead of
the 2008 Franchise fee being $2,500 as planned, each 2008 IBL Team only pays $1,500.00. As the League grows
each year, those first year 2008 IBL Teams
will always be given a lower Season fee than the 2009 Franchise Teams and
beyond. How much of a discount will be determined each year as the value of the
league increases for all involved.
Surprisingly, Franchise estimators as well as Stock Analyst have been in contact with the IBL due to the structure and have voiced excitement for the League. These analyst say that if the IBL is successful in just it's first year that the market value of an IBL Team Franchise could be worth as much as $5,000 to $10,000 per Team. The IBL's success will be measured by the crowds at their events as well as the fan base by the time the League has their "Final 4 Championship Event" which will be followed by the Leagues "All Star Grand Prix." Both of the final two season events have drawn the attention of several TV stations but as of yet, no contracts have been confirmed.
Success in additional years with the IBL will factor on many things. Of course the attainment of additional sponsorship will increase the worth for not only the League, but the Team Owners too as the IBL plans to share additional sponsorship revenue with them as well. If the IBL doesn't attain any TV deal, it certainly won't be the end of the world. The IBL never had any plans to attain any such TV deals in Season 1 and have not held any expectations for it in Season 2 either. However, the League has been passing all expectations so far and Season 1 is still over 2 months away.
Even without any of these
things in place, the IBL has already been
approached by several corporations asking if they will sell the league to them.
However Fossum said he and those involved have no such plans because
their goal is to assure the IBL is a
success before even considering any such idea.
"We have been blessed with the association of great
people." Said Fossum. "I can't tell you the
appreciation as well as pride I have personally to work with those who are as
excited as I have been about the IBL.
People like Steve Crawford 
(Left,
Vice President of IBL Operations) are
'Priceless' to come by and his hard work and leadership has been a driving force
behind the success of the IBL. Add in the
work of the many others in bringing other IBL
Teams on board such as Eastern Conference Director Lionell Royer (Below
Left) and you can understand why our excitement is matched with our confidence
in the success of our upcoming Season 1."
The IBL does have plans
to have exposure through both live and delayed internet events but with who is
still undecided. They have been approached by over a dozen MMA Internet sites
eager to air the IBL events but TV and
internet are just tips of the iceberg for the IBL's
marketing plan. They will soon announce several partnerships with MMA websites
and magazines as media partners who will cover the many IBL events for Season 1. IBL
merchandise is yet another form of marketing the league as well as the Leagues
plans for advertising on other web sites and fight sport magazines. These and
many other things could 
easily
double the value of not just the IBL, but
each of the Team Franchises.
The great advantage of the IBL as compared to other MMA groups is that not only will the IBL assist in making successful and greatly valued Team Franchises but in addition, the League will be a great marketing tool for Amateur MMA fighters looking for more high class exposure before turning Professional. Because of this, the IBL has already been approached by several potential investors asking the IBL if they are interested in taking the "Team Owned" concept to the Professional level. However, as of this time, the IBL has their focus on the Amateurs and the idea of a Pro League is far down the line. "We don't want the IFL (International Fight League) to feel we are taking their idea." Said Fossum. "However, as the concept of the IFL has been changing, our Team owned concept for pros may not interfere with their goals and desires at all. Still, our focus for now is on the Amateurs and we want to help build experienced and well rounded Amateur MMA fighters for all the great Pro events such as the IFL, UFC, Strikeforce, Elite XC just to name a few."
Whatever the IBL's plans
are for Pros is irrelevant at this time. Right now their attention is on Season
1 and if you have any desire to get on board for Season 1, we suggest you skip
over to the 
IBL's Ownership Page and get going. If
you miss season 1, you may regret it for a long time!
If Season 1 continues as the first few months have, the IBL may not need to look to those so called "Great Pro Events" because they may very well be, "The" MMA event of the future for both Amateurs and Pros. Whatever the case, it's clear to many that what we are seeing now is the "The Calm Before The Storm..." and I for one can't wait until the Thunder and Lightning begin this June. As they say in the IBL,
TUESDAY,
March, 11th, 2008, AT 9:30 PM,
PT
IBL TEAM PAGES
The wheel keeps moving
forward as the IBL gets ready for it's
first Season beginning the first week of June. Today the IBL started working on the various Team Pages that
will offer loads of info about each IBL
Team such as...
TEAM
ROSTERCheck them all out on the TEAMS page by clicking the Team name. To access the IBL Teams page click HERE.
There are several more TEAMS yet to be added for Season 1. However, the great news is that the IBL has already surpassed their goal of 8 TEAMS for season 1 with "9" as of today. Soon the IBL will do the official realignment of the Leagues Regions to assure each Region has a minimum of 4 Teams.
TUESDAY,
March, 4th, 2008, AT 2:50 PM,
PT
IBL
Opening Kick-Off Date
CHANGED
The
ISCF (International Sport Combat Federation ) has had a
high number of requests from Amateur MMA Fighters torn between fighting for
their IBL Team on Saturday night of the
ISCF MMA World Classic or competing in the
actual Tournament at the 
ISCF MMA World Classic (May 2nd, 3rd &
4th) in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The problem is, due to safety
issues, fighter's can't do both.
A lot of "OPEN" Division fighters were being asked to represent their IBL Team at the Tournament in the inaugural IBL Kick Off event that was planned to take place on Saturday night of the Tournament. However, this plan has now been changed so that the Open Class fighter's can instead fight for the $1,500 ISCF MMA World Classic Tournament Belts.
"We were surprised about the numbers of Open Division fighters who brought up this valid and justifiable issue." Said ISCF President Steve Fossum. "They wanted a chance to win the top belt in Amateur MMA but also wanted to represent their IBL Team in the Opening IBL Event on Saturday night. We believe this is a smart move for both the IBL and the ISCF. It will give us a better opportunity to focus on the IBL Kick Off event as it's own event and allow more experienced Amateur MMA Fighters a chance to fight for the ISCF World Classic Belt."
The IBL "Kick-Off" Event will now take place in Kansas City with a venue yet to be announced. The proposed IBL "Kick-Off" date has now been moved to the first week in April, either the weekend of April 4th or April 11th. Four IBL Teams will still "Kick-Off" the Season but it is yet to be confirmed exactly which Teams now will be a part of the IBL "Kick-Off"
The IBL "Kick-Off" event is an event the IBL will be filming to produce a marketing DVD to help IBL Team owners attain season sponsorship as well as a way to market the IBL overall. The actual IBL Season is still scheduled to begin the first week in June. For more info on the ISCF MMA World Classic Tournament Click HERE.
FRIDAY,
February 29th, 2008, AT 7:40 PM,
PT
IBL Season Schedules Being Made
IBL Team owner Art Sylmar of Virginia is ready and excited to host the first IBL Season event for the Eastern Region this June at the George Mason University Freedom Aquatic Center. Sylmar already has the date of June 14th, 2008 set and ready to do Battle! "Everyone here is already going crazy trying to get tickets in advance!" Says Sylmar. "It should be an awesome show."
However, before his IBL event, Sylmar has to focus on hie upcoming March 22nd show that is just around the corner. His March event will have an IBL tie in as well. Sylmar will be making special match-ups on this event to determine several Team members of his IBL Team for the 2008 season. The show is entitled "OPERATION OCTAGON II" - "THE CRUCIBLE" and will take place at the Prince William County Fairgrounds in Manassas, Virginia, USA. For more info go to www.OperationOctagon.com
Over the next few weeks the ISCF and IBL will work with the various IBL Promoters in creating the 2008 IBL Season Schedule.
POSTED AT 6:45
PM,
PT
FIRST IBL TEAM LOGO
Things are pretty busy here today at IBL HQ! We already have our first IBL Team Logo sent in for the, "Cage Monsters" of Kansas City.
Our goal was to have 8 Teams in year 1 which would be a great start to the League. As of today we have our 8 teams and another 4 ready to confirm over the next few days. So many are wondering if we will extend the Team registration deadline or are we good with what we have. In regards to that, as of today we have received 17 requests from people asking us to extend our deadline. Not saying all 17 will be jumping in with Teams because some were calling on behalf of the same potential teams.
According to plans, the IBL League will not officially begin until the first week of June. A kick-off IBL Event will happen at this years 2008 ISCF MMA World Classic in May at the US Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. At the Tournament, 4 IBL Teams will showcase what an IBL League event will look like. our desire is to film this event to attain highlight footage for future IBL ads, commercials, and sponsorship requests packages that will all be given to the IBL Team Owners to help them attain Team funding for expenses such as travel fees, uniforms and other Team expenses.
The reason the IBL wanted to get an official Team count by March 1st is because they need to know how many Teams will be in each division and how many IBL Fight events there will be for the Season. Although March 1st is 3 months before the League begins what people don't realize is schedules need to be made, organized with each Teams availability booking of their home venue. League paperwork needs to be created, press releases and other media sources. The IBL needs this information for potential sponsors, TV groups, and many other items that require the knowledge of "WHAT" exactly IS the IBL.
Having said all that, if there is anyone still wanting to get in on the ground floor of the first IBL Season in purchasing an IBL Team Franchise, we will allow some late registration requests. However, this too will have a time limit which will be announced next week. If you are thinking of having an IBL Team, we suggest you e-mail one of the and ask for a time extension. For the rest of you who are already in, we welcome you to the IBL Family and look forward to seeing you all...
TUESDAY,
February 26th, 2008, AT 1:30 PM,
PT
Anonymous Sponsor Steps
In
To Aid IBL Team Owners
This news will excite all potential
IBL Team Owners.
As some here
know, last week, the ISCF stepped in to sponsor IBL Team Owners who are also
ISCF
Promoters. The ISCF
stepped up and offered to pay $1,000 of each Teams Registration Fees to the IBL for all ISCF Promoters who are planning to purchase an
IBL Team. This was great for the
ISCF
Promoters, but what about those who are not ISCF Promoters? Well, for those non
ISCF
Promoters, your prayers have been answered... This week a sponsor stepped in and
told the IBL that for every team that
registers, he would pay $1,000 of their Team fees, making their fees only $1,500
now.
"This is the way we had hoped things would start working out" said IBL Commissioner Steve Fossum. "The more sponsors we can bring in to aid the League, the more successful it will be."
The funny thing here is that the sponsor has asked to remain anonymous. "I'm doing this to help the Amateur side of the sport" he said. "The concept of the IBL sounds exciting and I'm just proud to be in a financial situation where I can step in and help."
The Team registration deadline for the 2008 IBL Season is March 1st and with this reduction of fees it will surly make it easier for Teams to form. Those Teams who have already registered at the $2,500 fee will be sent a check for $1,000 later this week.
For those looking to Register for an IBL Team, go to the IBL Team Registration Page that can be found by clicking HERE.
MORE
IBL NEWS...
I Have A Team
But I
Don't Know How To Promote
Or Don't Have A Venue...
No worries here... We have had several trainers tell us they can put an IBL Team together but they have never promoted before. Well, we have taken some time to look into a remedy for this issue and have come up with some very helpful ideas.
These various scenarios will be brought into play after we see how many IBL Teams are registered after March 1st. If you can't promote your own events, many of the other IBL Promoters can and well, and share the income with you. So if this is stopping you, it shouldn't any longer...
FRIDAY,
February 15th, 2008, AT 10:50 PM,
PT
What If
MMA Is Not Legal In My State?
Can I Still
Form An IBL Team?
So you have a Team, Sponsors ready and even a Team name... Then
you discover AMATEUR MMA is not legal in your home state. Well, don't feel you
are alone. From our research, Amateur MMA is not legal in several states. In
fact, although the ISCF
is based in California, very few people know
who they are because Amateur MMA is not
legal here and the Pro MMA side is regulated by the State Commission. Imagine
that... The largest MMA sanctioning body in the world is unknown in its home
state... That's pretty funny. In fact, if you glance at the entire Western
Region, the ISCF
has only been consistent in one state, Idaho.
To see what states do not allow amateur MMA, see the black states in this image, click HERE.
So, what can you do? Well, you have several options if Amateur MMA is not legal in your state.
As the saying goes, "There are no problems... Only IDEA Problems." Here in California the ISCF is working with the State Commission to try and get Amateur MMA legalized. The topic will be heard at the next California State Commission meeting but that's not until April. Because of this, if we do have any California Teams, they may not be registered until after that meeting. That's "IF" the state votes at that meeting to allow amateur MMA. They may easily take it under consideration to think about and not vote on it until the next meeting which isn't until June, well after the first IBL season has started.
So because of this, potential California IBL Teams are back to the 4 choices offered above. If Amateur MMA is not past in California, those may be their only choices... Forever.
What is sad about the issue of Amateur MMA is the fact that States without Amateur MMA are actually bringing a greater safety risk to MMA Fighters who can't learn their skill as an Amateur. Instead, they are thrust into the Pro ranks and expected to begin as a Pro Fighter. The Safety issues here speak for themselves. The question is, WHY would ANY State not allow an AMATEUR Sport? Is it lack of officials to go around? Is it the always argued money issue, that States receive more tax income from a Pro event than an Amateur event? Or are there other reasons unknown to those in MMA?
In some states, the legalization of MMA came with a price... A price that some times brings up safety issues. Some states legalized Amateur MMA but instead of allowing it to be the sport it is, they added in "Their" own so called "Safety Rules". Some of which make a fight more dangerous, such as the mandatory "Headgear rule." Others have simply "Invented" rules they feel should apply to Amateur MMA such as the knock down rule - standing 8 count. Still, despite the rule limitations, at least they allow Amateur MMA, which is something Amateur MMA fighters in the States below would be extremely happy about. Here are the States where Amateur MMA is NOT Legal:
TUESDAY,
February 12th, 2008, AT 5:15 PM,
PT
POTENTIAL
IBL OWNERS...
The
IBL Does Not Need Everything!
A special
note to potential IBL Team Owners...
You
do not have to submit your entire roster by the Team
Registration Deadline of March 1st. In fact, all the IBL
needs from you by March 1st is your completed Franchise Application - Registration Form that tells
what city and state you will represent and your registration fees to confirm
your regional position.
Teams will have plenty of time between March 1st and the beginning of the IBL Season to complete their Team Roster, Team Logo and even their official IBL Team Name.
First
Year is Best
For New IBL Owners...
Another
special note to potential IBL Team
Owners...
Those who become a part of the inaugural IBL
Season will be locked in to some special benefits. To begin with, the
IBL Franchise Fee for the 2009
IBL Season will be more than the inaugural
2008 year. However, all 2008 IBL Team
Owners will continue to pay the same IBL
Team Franchise Fee for a minimum of 3 years. in addition, first year
IBL Owners will also be given much larger
percentages of IBL Merchandise sales and
several other additions to be announced soon.
It is the plan of the IBL to have an annual League meeting among all the Team Owners. At this meeting, the Team Owners will discuss various issues about the IBL such as Future Goals, Marketing, Awards, Promotions, League Rules and Regulations, Sponsorship, TV/Media and the Financial Status of the IBL to determine if Franchise Fees should go up or remain the same until the next IBL Owners meeting.
Another
Special Page!
The IBL has added a page for
fighters looking to be on a Team. Over the last couple of weeks several fighters
have been looking for Teams that have openings. The IBL cannot promise all
fighters listed on this page will get on a Team, but at least their name is out
there so Owners know about them. In the last post, this was called a "Fighters
Available" page.
As the Teams Owners and Coaches are announced, some of the Teams will offer try-outs. However, most Teams already have all their fighters. More IBL News coming later, but for now... "Battle ON!"
THURSDAY, February 7th, 2008, AT 9:40 PM, PT
FIRST
IBL Team Announced!
As we start to
confirm some of the owner Applications, we would like to announce the name of
the first IBL Team. Please welcome the
KC Cage Monster's who will be
based out of Overland Park, Kansas. The Team Owners are Mr. Greg Van Etten
of
Labor Pros -
www.laborpros.net and well known Missouri and Kansas ISCF Fight Promoter Mr. Phil Jones of
True Fight Fan -
www.TrueFightFan.com - The Team plans to name their Coaches early
next week along with their first fighters. Congratulations Cage Monsters! The next question now is "Who's Next?"
WEDNESDAY,
February 6th, 2008, AT 8:40 PM,
PT
Hang
On Everyone...
The IBL Is Gaining
MORE SPEED!
The IBL is catching on fast and the eyes are looking this way....! All with VERY LITTLE marketing of the first legit Amateur MMA Team Fight League. Who would have ever thought that such a league would have such a BANG before hitting any of the main media sources!
Although the official announcement of the IBL happened late on Friday, January 18th, the Official IBL website was not launched until after 8:PM on Wednesday, January 23rd. What has surprised everyone here is the massive interest in the IBL. From Thursday, January 24th up until yesterday, Tuesday, February 5th (13 days) the IBL site has had over 1,200 "Unique" visitors to the site and over 33,000 hits. Yes... "Thirty Three THOUSAND!" Already the sites "Alexa" numbers have jumped from a first week in the millions to already under 900,000 (862,291). In the last week the site dipped even lower to 647,238. Alexa.com is a web rating site that ranks web site ratings. The lower the number, the more traffic the site is getting.
Surprisingly a lot of interest has come from outside the USA as well. So far individuals from 14 other countries have e-mailed us here at the IBL Headquarters asking if the IBL plans to expand outside the USA immediately or if the growth plan is slower. Those inquiries have come from the USA neighboring countries of Canada and Mexico of course, that could easily be added into the IBL mix. However, the surprise to the IBL has been the interest from the countries of England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Ghana, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands and Hungary. The biggest surprise was the inquiries received from Japan. Seems they have a big desire to start up an IBL League in Asia. Sweden has shown a big interest in the IBL too. So much that 9% of the IBL site traffic worldwide has come from there. The Alexa rank for the IBL site in the USA is 272,541 while in Sweden it's at 140,700. "I'm not sure how fast we want to grow outside the USA." Said IBL Commissioner Steve Fossum. "This has exploded far beyond our original growth plans and Steve (Crawford, IBL VP of Operations) and myself have found ourselves overwhelmed with inquiry e-mails now and we are still in the Team building stages."
The IBL has now posted a
"Question Answer ( Q & A )" page
(Click HERE) to answer a lot of the general questions they have been
receiving. Added soon will be a "Fighters Available" page.
This page will list some of the Amateur fighters looking to get on IBL Teams. As the Teams Owners and Coaches are
announced, some of the Teams will offer try-outs. However, most Teams already
have all their fighters. More IBL News
coming later, but for now... "Battle ON!"
MONDAY,
February 4th, 2008, AT 7:45 PM,
PT
IBL
GROWING FASTER
THAN EXPECTED
Another Weightclass Is
Added
And First Season Looking Exciting!
There has been a lot going on with the IBL since it was launched back on Friday, January 18th. Just over two weeks old and the ball is rollin much faster than expected. One of the big additions is the adding of another weightclass. This was due to High Demand of requests by the smaller fighters in the Featherweight division. This makes 6 weightclasses for the IBL which are
Of course this adds the question of "What if there is a 3-3 tie at the end of a Team competition?" Well within a couple of weeks the IBL will announce the exciting way a Tie will be broken by the two Teams if it occurs.
In addition, the IBL is also creating ways to allow Team Owners to host more events. Various plans include Team Tryout Events as well as competitions among the Teams Alternate fighters.
The IBL Owners page has
also been updated which includes an Owners Application. (
IBL Owners Page )
As the IBL approaches the March 1st
Deadline for Team Registration, already there are several teams established in
Missouri along with Virginia, Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa and Kansas. Additional
interest is coming from North Carolina, New Mexico, Indiana, Ohio, Arkansas,
Tennessee and several other States. "This may be bigger than we have
plans for, which is a good thing as long as we can keep up with the demand,
which is actually a good thing." Said IBL
VP of Operations
Steve Crawford. "We are excited about the response for Teams
and Steve Crawford has been doing a great job to get the word out" said
IBL Commissioner Steve Fossum. "We
haven't even started our initial advertising for the league and already we have
Teams established."
For the first year the IBL is offering initial Team owners special incentives on things such as IBL merchandise licensing, non IBL event Sanctioning discounts, Graphic design work and several other incentives. As Teams are added, the new Amateur Fight League keeps attracting more and more intention. "It's about time someone took the Amateur Seriously." Says Fossum. "Wait till they see them do Battle!"
WEDNESDAY, January 23rd, 2008, AT 8:40 PM, PT
New
IBL Website Launched!
Tomorrow the
IBL will make an announcement in regards
to Team Ownership requirements. Some of this info will be sent by e-mail only to
those who have either committed or those who have shown interest in the IBL.
Since the
IBL became public knowledge last Friday
night, the response has been "Overwhelming!" It looks to be
exactly what we thought it would be...
"The
NEXT BIG THING!"
OPENING ANNOUNCEMENT OF
THE IBL LAUNCH...
FRIDAY,
January 18th, 2008, AT 9:50 PM,
PT
THE NEXT BIG
THING...
We Present To You, The
International BATTLE
League!
After a successful year in working with the Professional MMA League, the IFL ( International Fight League) the ISCF has been swamped with requests from literally hundreds of Amateur Fighters and Trainers have been asking the ISCF to create something like the IFL "Team/league" concept, but for Amateurs. Well Fighters.... Your prayers and wishes have been answered. We would like to introduce to you the "Next Big Thing" for MMA, The
IBL
International Battle League
The First Real
Amateur MMA Team Fight League!
Already there is a
lot of excitement about the new IBL. "I
was so excited to hear that the ISCF was
working to implement an amateur fight league." said Joe Taylor,
(R) President of Combat Sports International - www.combatsports.com)
"This is long overdue as it is a must that the amateur athletes are
given a first class platform to display their talents. I am 100% confident that
Steve Fossum and the ISCF will
provide such a stage for these disciplined athletes. Combat Sports International
is proud to be given the opportunity to support such a noble venture."
"Even
before this official press release was made there has already been a load of
interest." said Steve Crawford, (L) VP of Operations
with the new IBL. "In just
speaking with several fighters, trainers and promoters, the IBL has had requests for teams from Missouri,
Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, South Dakota, Virginia, Florida, Arkansas,
Indiana and North Carolina. We have also had several top names voice their
support such as Pat Miletich, Bas Rutten and Keith Hackney."
Even the IFL is supportive of the IBL knowing it will be a great place to scout potential pro talent for the Pro IFL League. All rules and regulations of the IBL will be sanctioned by the ISCF.
"Our goal in
creating the IBL is not to compete with
the IFL."
Said ISCF President Steve Fossum (R).
"We still have a very good relationship with them and of course
competing on a pro level would be burning a loyal bridge. If anything, the new
IBL Amateur League will be a feeder organization to Professional Promotions such
as the IFL."
Of course, the main thing that sets the IBL apart from the IFL is the fact that the IBL is an AMATEUR Team League and although there are other things that are the same, there are also a lot of differences.
The weight classes are the same;
The Team concept and competition will be the same, as each League Event will feature 4 Teams, where 2 Teams square off against each other for ranking points, wins and loses. However, the differences of the IBL Amateur League may work to its overall advantage and future success.
In the IBL, all the Teams
will be "Teamed Owned" instead of owned by the League (IBL). Team Owners do not have to be directly
involved in the sport of MMA. In some cases the Team Owner will be the same as
the Team Coach. However, some 
Teams will have a separate
Owner and Coach. There is no limit to the number of Coaches and or Trainers each
Team can have. Each Team will be responsible for their own expenses which means
they will be allowed to seek and attain their own sponsorship for expense
funding and or needed equipment. Team members could be fighters all from 1
gym/school or a combined group from the city or region the team is based out of.
It will be best if all the Team members live close to each other to assure unity
of the Team, especially in Team practices and decision making. This concept
clearly separates the IBL/ISCF Leadership from the TEAMS just as in other
successful Team Leagues such as the NFL or NBA. The only difference here is that
this is an AMATEUR League.
Teams will field 5 starters and 5 alternates. Each Team will be responsible for hosting 1 home event a season. Scheduled events will be held every 30 days or every 4-5 weeks, depending on venue bookings. The plan is to have a 4 month season that will provide 1 home event for each Team.
The regions of the IBL are pretty basic. The League will be divided into 3 Conferences (Western, Central and Eastern) and 3 Divisions in each Conference (Northern, Central and Southern). At the end of the 4 month season, each region of each conference will each have a Champion. There will also be 1 Wild Card Team which is the next best team of all 3 Divisions who will round out the needed 4 Teams for the Conference playoffs. The conference playoffs will take place on two events, 30 days apart (To provide plenty of rest and recovery time in case a fighter from one team is stopped by strikes for example)
Once a Champion is determined from the 3 Conferences, the League will select the best performing Team from the Playoffs to be added in as the Wild Card Team to make up the IBL Final 4 Championships.
The IBL will be
responsible for hosting the IBL
Final 4 Championship event. At the Tournament, after weigh-ins, a hat
draw will determine the parings of the first 2 match ups and the first 10 fights
along with which Teams will compete first. After the first 10 fights, on the
SAME NIGHT, the final two winning Teams will meet for the IBL Championship.
Here is where it ads a little twist. The winning
"Fighters"
will each receive an IBL Championship
Belts. The Winning TEAM will receive a Championship Trophy and other
Championship Awards such as individual Championship Rings, Plaques, Jackets and
other things.
After the IBL Final 4 Championships, the IBL will host the IBL Grand Prix which will be a match-up of the top 10 fighters (2 from each weight class) to compete for an even more prestigious belt, the IBL Grand Prix Belt.
There is a lot more we will be announcing about the IBL so keep watch here on the IBL News pages.
Right now one of the next goals of the IBL is to confirm the first 4 Teams that will kick off the start of the IBL at this years ISCF World Classic in Cedar Rapids Iowa at the US Cellular Center Arena! These 4 Teams will compete in a special Saturday Night Feature Event during the Tournament weekend.
So if you are interested in seeing it LIVE, we hope to
see you in Cedar Rapids the weekend of May 2nd, 3rd and 4th where you will not
only see the BEST Amateur MMA Fighters competing in an open Tournament
format to be the BEST Amateur MMA Fighter in the World, but also, the
start of the "Next Big Thing for MMA!" The
INTERNATIONAL BATTLE
LEAGUE!
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